Ashland: a theater critic’s notebook

Hark! I just rolled back into town from my annual summer roadtrip to Ashland, the mecca for Shakespeare lovers known as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

The big news backstage at the opening weekend was the unveiling of “American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle.”OSF has commissioned a 37-play project that will chart epic modern in the American past, harnessing playwrights as diverse as Suzan-Lori Parks, David Henry Hwang, Naomi Wallace and Culture Clash. Of particular significance to the Bay Area, Jonathan Moscone (of Cal Shakes) and Tony Taccone (of Berkeley Rep) will collaborate on a piece that examines the loss of Moscone’s father, slain San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. Slated to debut in 2010, just in time for Ashland’s 75th anniversary, the cycle represents one of the boldest and most ambitious projects in the theater’s long and storied history.

Pentameter junkies (you know who you are!) should check back here later for more news and reviews from my Ashland escapades. Three days. Six and a half plays. Nice work if you can get it!